Newby needs Help
- Thread starter midrange
- Start date
What company made your 2-8-2? How old is it? How much has it been run? These answers will determine if it needs lubrication at all and, if so, how much. Worst case is you're going to have to disassemble the engine, clean all the gunk out of the gears and drive train, and then lubricate the drivetrain, gears, and side rods. Have you run this engine at all? If you have and it runs OK, I'd say just leave it alone unless it's a really old engine. Most engines made in the last 10 years have delrin gears and overlubrication is a bigger problem than not enough lubrications.
Its A Santa Fe IHC Mikado 2-8-2 Steam Loco that smokes and lights up.
It ran before being taken off the tracks over 2 years ago to which it sat in a display not moved for that long. This is why he says it needs to be lubricated due to sitting over 2 years. Yes it runs however i'm not risking it. I do not have its full age.
It ran before being taken off the tracks over 2 years ago to which it sat in a display not moved for that long. This is why he says it needs to be lubricated due to sitting over 2 years. Yes it runs however i'm not risking it. I do not have its full age.
Last edited by a moderator:
Selector
Well-Known Member
If it doesn't look crudded up with good light and magnification, you can probably use ATF (auto transmission fluid that is also plastics compatible) such as Dextron III. Any time you lube an engine, the idea is that less is more. Don't use a dropper or some other item to make the lube drip into place. Instead, taking a darning needle and clip off the top half of the eye. Leave two longish tines with the closing portion of the loop at the tip nipped off. Dip this appendage into a small drop of ATF and then insert that laden tip into the space behind the drivers, where the axle goes through the bushings, and also touch the needle to any hinged links on the valve gear.
Inside the engine will be a worm gear and a spur, meshed. If you can remove a couple of mounting screws under the boiler (invert the engine and look for screw heads unrelated to the two trucks), you should be able to get at the main drive. Use paint thinner or a solvent on a Q-Tip to clean up the old grease, dry off the gears quickly and thoroughly with a clean cloth so that the solvent doesn't have time to do any lasting damage to the plastic gears, and then use a plastic compatible white grease. Hobby stores will carry it. In fact, you can use the same Dextron III if you wish...it's great as a lubricant on gears, but I would defer to grease if it were available.
-Crandell
Inside the engine will be a worm gear and a spur, meshed. If you can remove a couple of mounting screws under the boiler (invert the engine and look for screw heads unrelated to the two trucks), you should be able to get at the main drive. Use paint thinner or a solvent on a Q-Tip to clean up the old grease, dry off the gears quickly and thoroughly with a clean cloth so that the solvent doesn't have time to do any lasting damage to the plastic gears, and then use a plastic compatible white grease. Hobby stores will carry it. In fact, you can use the same Dextron III if you wish...it's great as a lubricant on gears, but I would defer to grease if it were available.
-Crandell
If it smokes and says "Made in Yugoslavia", it was the last of the AHM Mikes, made in 1981. You do want to disassemble the engine, give the gears and the drive train a good cleaning, and then lube. I've been using Dextron III automatic transmission fluid rather than grease. It only takes a few drops and it clings to the gears without eventually becoming gummy like grease. I use La Belle's light oil for the drive train and the valve gear. Again, one or two drops in enough. I'm sure the engine didn't come with any instructions and I don't have one of these to help you with the disassembly steps. Maybe someone else here can give you specific directions but most AHM steamers were held together with screws with are easily visible from the bottom. I don't remember if this is one that had the motor in the tender or the locomotive. If it's in the tender, be careful to note how the universals and drive train come apart so they will go back together the same way.
